“The first goal, there was no excuse for that, and I think you could tell we were waiting for a spark to get us going,” Emery said. “That deflated us for a while.

“You saw sat the end when Vinny got one [power-play goal], we had a chance to win the game. Sometimes you have to make your own luck.”

Shouldn’t the spark have been that you were two points out of a playoff spot when the trip began?

“I agree, definitely,” Emery said. “There’s no excuse for not being motivated. You could have found tons of stuff to get motivated. Vinny coming back here. Having put ourselves in a spot where we could have gotten into the playoff picture, it’s disappointing to come up like we did.”

It was inexcusable.

“The spark should have been ourselves,” said Wayne Simmonds, who played hard in the game and even had a penalty shot chance.

“We needed it. We should have played for Vinny. Get that win for them. We didn’t play to the best of our ability. Getting too fancy, not getting pucks deep, not supporting each other on the breakouts or in the offensive zone.”

Flyers coach Craig Berube said his team lacked for compete.

“We didn’t compete hard enough in the battles right from the start,” he said. “Not the same [as Monday]. Monday we were fine and turned the puck over. Tonight, they came hard with pressure and forechecked hard.

“We didn’t handle it. We didn’t compete on the walls and battle the puck out and do all the little things that needed to be done. … You got to handle adversity better than we do right now. Teams are going to come hard at us. Play us hard. Got to be able to handle that and play composed.”

All in all, a blown opportunity.

“Obviously it sucks,” Simmond said. “It’s unfortunate we couldn’t get any points out of this little trip. We can’t dwell on it. We have to play to the best of our ability when we go home and that two-week road trip.”

Lecavalier said the Flyers lacked for execution on the trip.

“Execution wasn’t there. They had puck possession and capitalized on their chances,” he said. “That team is a quick team. You turn the puck over and they will get chances.”

The Flyers are off on Thanksgiving Day before meeting Winnipeg at 11:30 a.m. on Black Friday.

NHL Notes: Oilers sign star Leon Draisaitl to mega 8-year contract

NHL Notes: Oilers sign star Leon Draisaitl to mega 8-year contract

EDMONTON, Alberta -- The Edmonton Oilers have signed center Leon Draisaitl to an eight-year contract extension with an average annual value of $8.5 million.

The extension runs through the 2024-25 season, similar to the eight-year, $100-million extension superstar captain Connor McDavid signed with the team in July.

With the signings, the Oilers are banking on McDavid and Draisaitl providing a potent one-two punch for the team as it looks to build on last season's return to the playoffs after a decade of futility.

Draisaitl, a 21-year-old German, had 77 points (29 goals, 48 assists) last season, his third in the NHL.

He finished eighth among NHL scorers, and second on the Oilers behind McDavid.

He led the Oilers in scoring during the 2017 playoffs, posting 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in 13 games.

Draisaitl was selected third overall by the Oilers at the 2015 draft (see full story).

Avalanche: Hobey Baker winner Butcher now free agentCollege hockey's top player is an NHL free agent after former University of Denver defenseman Will Butcher allowed a deadline to pass without signing with the Colorado Avalanche.

The Avalanche selected Butcher in the fifth round of the 2013 draft and had until Tuesday to sign the Hobey Baker Award winner who led Denver to a national championship in April.

A person with direct knowledge of the discussions told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Butcher already has had discussions with the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils and NHL-expansion Vegas Golden Knights. The person said Butcher has not yet narrowed his list, and is also talking with other teams.

The person spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity because the talks are private.

The Denver Post first reported the three specific teams expressing interest in Butcher (see full story).

Wild: Cullen comes home for 21st NHL seasonThe Minnesota Wild and center Matt Cullen have agreed to a one-year, $1 million contract, bringing him back to his home state for a 21st season in the NHL.

The Wild announced the deal, which includes $700,000 in potential performance bonuses, on Wednesday.

Cullen played the last two years with Pittsburgh, winning consecutive Stanley Cups with the Penguins. He played three seasons for the Wild from 2010-13, his first return to Minnesota since launching his career at Moorhead High School and St. Cloud State.

Cullen, who will turn 41 on Nov. 2, had 13 goals and 18 assists in 72 games in 2016-17 for the Penguins, plus two goals and seven assists in 25 playoff games. He has played in 1,366 career regular season games, the sixth-most among active players (see full story).